Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports

Kevin Chan is UEG’s Sr. Director, Rights & Partnerships, Esports. He comes to UEG with extensive experience connecting brands and consumers through gaming at IGN Entertainment, the world’s largest gaming editorial brand, and Defy Media, where he led the go-to-market marketing strategy for gaming ad sales across its many YouTube properties. Naturally, he has been an avid gamer his entire life, currently splitting his time between Apex Legends, Overwatch, and Pillars of Eternity.

Louise Chater is an accomplished consumer research guru and film industry strategist. Her work for the major Hollywood studios has impacted the global marketing strategies for more than 500 name-recognition movies over a twenty-year career, from boutique independent releases to franchise and tent-pole blockbusters. 

Devising new methodologies to test product in traditional and emergent global markets, Louise’s insights into the global audience is second to none. She is currently leading an innovations team devising a radical new form of biometric research - the ‘VX’ tool - for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Michael Davies oversees manages all day-to-day aspects of live broadcast operations and oversees integration of new and emerging technologies for Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1. With over two decades of experience in sports television, Davies specializes in technical production and innovation for large sporting events.

As the head of field and technical operations, he manages a highly talented team of individuals responsible for the thousands of live sports broadcast yearly at Fox, including the technical execution of Super Bowls XLII, XLV, XLVIII and LI. In 2016, Davies oversaw Fox Sports broadcasts of the Daytona 500, the US Open, MLB All Star Game and World Series, as well as the productions of various live VR events. In addition to technical design and oversight, Davies works within the FOX SPORTS LAB, a designed approach to exploring technical partnerships to enhance the viewing experience. 

Before joining FOX Sports in 2006 as Director of Field Operations, Davies was with HBO Sports for 10 years. Davies has won multiple Sports Emmy Awards for his work with both FOX Sports and HBO including technical team remotes for NASCAR, MLB and NFL coverage and long form sports programming.

Gaia Dempsey is an entrepreneur and pioneer in the field of augmented reality (AR). She was a cofounder and former international general manager at DAQRI, an augmented reality hardware and software company that delivers a complete professional AR platform to the industrial and enterprise market.

Gaia is currently the founder and CEO of 7th Future, a consultancy that partners and co-invests with technology leaders and communities to build and launch global-impact innovation models, with a commitment to openness, integrity, resilience, and long-term thinking. Partners include the Future of Life Institute and the Partnership on AI.

Mark Francis, a native of Fredericton, NB, Canada, holds an MBA and M.A. in sports administration as well as a diploma in university teaching from the University of New Brunswick. He works as an instructor in sports management at UCLA’s Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports; an adjunct instructor in sports technology at Camosun College; and a sports management consultant for BaAM Productions in Los Angeles, overseeing the firm’s interests throughout the professional sports industry.

BaAM is a premier event production and management firm whose signature events include the NHL Winter Classic, MLB All-Star FanFest, 2014 NHL Coors Light Stadium Series, Pro Football Hall of Fame FanFest 2014 and the 2015 Pan American Games. A specialist in the area of fan experience and engagement, Francis has significant interests in social media marketing and ROI, brand management, marketing, business development, sports technology and law. He boasts a wealth of experience at all levels of sport, from academic, business, administrative and high-performance coaching perspectives, which enable him to speak from experience when it comes to his business relationships and teachings. Through his current and prior professional associations with numerous esteemed sports organizations, Francis has developed an extensive professional network throughout all levels of the sports industry, many of whom appear annually during his Sports Business program delivered through the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports.

A dedicated supporter of community involvement, Francis also serves as advisory board chair of the African Sports Business Association, and as volunteer head coach of the men’s hockey program at UCLA, where he was selected as one of two finalists for the PAC-8 Coach of the Year Award for 2012. Francis was also selected as head coach of the PAC-8 selects at the ACHA National Championships in Philadelphia in 2011 and 2013. He recently completed a two-year term serving as the executive director of the PAC-8 Men’s Hockey Conference.

Dr. Dan Hattrup has worked in analytics for the past 20 years, starting with sales forecasting and moving into customer insights around NPS and effort scoring. He worked for Charles Schwab for over ten years, in banking and telecom for 4 each. After being a long time customer of Teradata, he now brings this experience to bear as a Teradata consultant, helping multiple companies in the CME space better engage with the customers, increase acquisition and revenue per customer and lower attrition rates. 

Nathan is CEO of 3D Live, a company pioneering the future of out-of-home entertainment with its patented “holographic” 3D LED display technology.  The company serves the live events, theme park, eSports and cinema markets by building awe-inspiring audience experiences such as the award-winning Mass Effect: New Earth attraction at California’s Great America. 

Nathan is, at heart, an entrepreneur and technologist. As an executive producer, Nathan has led projects for a long list of clients such as: Disney, Dell, Budweiser, Cedar Fair amusement parks, and more. He is a specialist in stereoscopic 3D content creation and display optics. 

His visionary approach in creating the world’s first real-time interactive Stereo 3D virtual environments on stage have solidified 3D Live’s place as a leader in immersive entertainment. 3D Live is the only company to launch multiple successful live 3D tours and shows in the world and is now pushing into other markets including branded activations, themed entertainment and eSports.

Eric Johnson is the CEO and Founder of WON WORLDWIDE, a venture revenue advisory firm that builds revenue strategies and executions for sports media and entertainment businesses.  Most notably, WON has just help to launch the ALLIANCE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL new professional Spring football league on CBS Sports, Turner Sports and NFL Network.

Prior to that, Eric worked at ESPN for 18 years as the executive vice president of Global Advertising Revenue & Sales Operations. In this role, Johnson leads the U.S. and international multimedia ad sales team efforts.  He is responsible for all sales activity across all of ESPN’s businesses, including the ESPN television networks, ESPN Print and Digital Media, X Games, ESPN Syndication Events, ESPN Audio, ESPN Deportes, and espnW.  Outside of the U.S., he works directly with ESPN’s sales offices in Buenos Aires, San Paulo, London, Singapore, Sydney and Miami, Fla., to drive revenue for ESPN’s international properties.

In 2008, he was named #25 on the Mediaweek 50, a list of “the most indispensable executives shaping the future of media,” and was CABLE-FAX’s 2010 VP & Above Sales Person of the Year (Honorable Mention).  Additionally, under his leadership, ESPN’s multimedia sales teams have been honored by a 2012 Jack Myers survey that ranked ESPN’s #1 among TV sales organizations (tied with ABC).  This follows a recognition in 2008 from min (Media Industry Newsletter), which named Johnson’s team the “Multiplatform Sales Team of the Year.”

Currently, Johnson sits on the Board of Directors for IAB and MPA. He is also on the Advisory Board for VIDEONOMICS. Johnson’s tenure at ESPN began in 1999, where he served as an account executive for West Coast account television sales. In 2003, as a vice president of national ad sales, he took over management of the West Coast television sales team and served as senior vice president of multimedia sales, overseeing offices in Burbank and San Francisco, Calif. from 2006-2007.

Prior to joining ESPN, Johnson worked at TIME magazine in Los Angeles, following a term of service on the advertising agency side of the business.  From 1992-1999, Johnson worked as a media planning/strategist executive at Deustch LA, Grey Advertising, and Foote, Cone & Belding. Johnson graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1991 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Robert D. Jordan CVE provides consulting services to teams, venues, property owners, and developers. He is an established voice in the “Smart Stadium” movement by developing solutions that integrate all the electronic systems in modern venues into an integrated operating and content distribution platform that lowers cap ex, improves the fan experience, and maximizes revenue.

Jordan most recently was with Van Wagner’s Team and Venue Services Group, specializing in technology infrastructure at sports facilities and mixed-use districts. Projects included consulting on SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta for Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves, plus Little Caesars Arena and the District Detroit – the ballpark and arena both opened in 2017. Van Wagner acquired Jordan’s firm, Venue Research and Design, in 2012.

Jordan worked with MLB Advanced Media to update MLB ballparks with a standard wireless platform across the league. His role extended to consulting for MLB on its activation of instant replay in baseball, as well as league-wide installations of Statcast and iBeacon. Jordan’s additional milestone projects included consulting on college facilities such as the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium renovation and Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome. Prior, Jordan was the vice president of design and construction for MetLife Stadium, the $1.65 billion stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., that opened in 2010 for the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Giants. He was also part of the development team at American Airlines Center in Dallas, which opened in 2001 for the NHL’s Stars and NBA’s Mavericks.

Ken Kerschbaumer has been editorial director of the Sports Video Group since 2005 and has been writing about how sports networks and leagues use video and audio technology to deliver a quality TV experience since 1991. He began his career in 1991 at Television Broadcast magazine before joining Cahners where he was editor of Digital Broadcasting magazine. In 2000 he joined Broadcasting & Cable magazine as Senior Editor of Technology. Seven years later he helped co-found the Sports Video Group with Paul Gallo and Marty Porter.

Kristie Moomey is Vice President Content Operations & Post Production for TNT and TBS (divisions of WarnerMedia).  In this role, Kristie is responsible for overseeing the technical and content operations and leads all post production for the networks’ top-rated, unscripted series including, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Conan, James Corden’s Drop the Mic and Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild (both of which debuted as the #2 and #3 new cable comedies in 2017) the forthcoming, eagerly anticipated, live event series, Chasing the Cure, anchored by award-winning journalist Ann Curry and the new, lifestyle series that stars style and fashion business icon Jenna Lyons. She also oversees the production of live specials for broadcast by the networks including the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the iHeart Radio Awards. Additionally, Kristie administers the internal and external technical distribution for all of TBS and TNT’s original programming and provides strategic guidance on the systems and advanced technology to architect and support the secure omniplatform delivery and distribution of the company’s premium content.    

Kristie also advises the content operations group in understanding evolving complexities of internal and external client specifications given the multiplatform obligations that heavily influence content production, distribution and storage in addition to supervising a creative team responsible for ancillary content production and editorial services.  Additionally, Kristie is also responsible for managing the networks’ original series group archive and oversees the technical multi-platform distribution of TNT and TBS assets internally and externally. 

During her 15 years at Turner (now WarnerMedia), Kristie has continued to thrive, progressively moving through various roles within the company.  She began as a Production Coordinator for TNT’s original movies, was then promoted to Manager of Production and Post Production for TNT movies and original drama series. After the networks underwent organizational changes, Kristie’s role was again expanded to include oversight of TBS comedy series. She was later promoted to Director of Post Production and became responsible for late night and unscripted programming before adding digital extensions after being promoted to Senior Director of Post Production.  

Prior to Turner, Kristie held various freelance production jobs working, for Peter Engle Productions and MGM Studios in addition to her prior work in business affairs at Rysher Entertainment.

Kristie graduated from UCLA and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.  She is a board member of WICT and a member of the Television Academy and UCLA Alumni Association Mentor Program.  Kristie is also involved with HPA/Women in Technology Hollywood, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and Turner Women Today, an internal, employee-led business resource group.

Rich is a 20-year entertainment, consumer products, and sports marketing veteran who has conceptualized and executed award-winning product launch campaigns. He is the winner of the 2018 Major League Soccer Marketing Executive of the Year Award.  Prior to LAFC, he co-founded American-made menswear brand Exley, served as the Co-General Manager of the Los Angeles Matadors in the World Series of Boxing, Vice President of Marketing at Warner Bros. Television where he oversaw the marketing launch of "TMZ on TV", and the Executive Director of Advertising and Promotion at CBS Paramount Television for the #1 Entertainment News Magazine, "Entertainment Tonight”.

Rich is a co-founder of the LAFC Youth Leadership Program which mentors at-risk high school students through sport, serves on the board of the Bresee Foundation Youth Center, and is a guest lecturer at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Emerson College Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University, and California State University Long Beach. He received a BBA degree in Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin.

Matthew Pierce is the founder and CEO of Versus Systems (CSE:VS), developers of Winfinite, a patented platform that allows content creators and publishers to offer real-world prizing to players and viewers. 
Pierce is a Lecturer at UCLA and UCLAAnderson School of Management. 
Prior to Versus, Pierce Co-founded Rosum Corporation (acquired by TruePosition), O-Labs, and RobotDinosaurGames. He has also worked at Warner Bros and the Boston Consulting Group. Pierce is an investor and advisor to early-stage technology companies and he is a graduate of Stanford University and UCLA Anderson.

Jaia Thomas is a Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment attorney with over ten years of experience on both coasts. She represents film producers, television writers, and various industry talent, assisting them with intellectual property and transactional matters. She has negotiated deals with several networks including ABC, NBC, HBO and Bravo. She also assists professional athletes with brand protection and production company formation.   

Jaia has been quoted as a legal expert in publications such as The New York Times and USA Today. She has served as a panelist for the Los Angeles County Bar Association and Beverly Hills Bar Association and a speaker for several sports and entertainment law conferences. She has had several articles published in journals including, Pace I.P., Sports and Entertainment Law Journal (“For the Love of the Name: Professional Athletes Seek Trademark Protection”), Journal of Sports Media (“Twitter: The Sports Media Rookie”) and The American Bar Association (“1Million Followers: Understanding Social Media Influencer Agreements”). 

Jaia is currently an adjunct professor at UCLA, where she teaches a course titled "Copyright Law and the Entertainment Industry" and all-day seminar titled “The Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Law Practice.” Prior to her appointment at UCLA, she was an adjunct professor at American University in Washington D.C. where she taught graduate students about the inner workings of production company formation. She has guest lectured at several universities, including Stanford Law School and Georgetown Law School.  

Jaia recently launched Diverse Representation, a platform aimed at increasing the exposure and number of African-American agents, attorneys, managers and publicists working in the sports and entertainment industries. In addition to hosting various events, Diverse Representation provides the first ever comprehensive database of African-American agents, attorneys, managers and publicists who work in the sports and entertainment industry throughout the country. For more information – www.diverserepresentation.com. 

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jaia Thomas is a graduate of Colgate University (BA) and The George Washington University Law School (JD). She also holds a Certificate in Television, Film and New Media Production from University of California, Los Angeles.

Ricardo Viramontes is VP, Executive Creative Director of Uninterrupted, where he sits at the intersection of athlete storytelling and cultural insights. Throughout his career, he has developed intellectual properties, award-winning campaigns, interactive platforms, and original content for brands such as Lyft, Apple, Nike, Converse, and ESPN. Some of his most recognizable work is from his involvement with the award-winning Chipotle Back To the Start campaign. 

Ricardo's multidisciplinary work has earned him awards and accolades at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (Film Grand Prix and the first Branded Entertainment Grand Prix), One Show, One Show Entertainment, One Show Design, TED Ads Worth Spreading, Clios, Webby Awards, Art Directors Club, AICP, D&AD, NXT Stage Hollywood Awards, Andy Awards, AIGA and Communication Arts.

Lena Wasikowski is Vice President of Global Client Servicing for Warner Bros. Technology. In her role, Wasikowski provides strategic oversight of the organization’s content delivery, client operations support, next generation content servicing initiatives and operations strategy.

Wasikowski leads the team responsible for delivering Warner Bros. Television and Home Entertainment content to global servicing partners and retailers worldwide. Wasikowski and her team ensure client success and accelerated content delivery through the development, implementation and optimization of advanced, efficient operations protocols. Wasikowski also plays a lead role in the creation and establishment of servicing protocols for industry standard specs and next generation technologies, including 4K, Dolby ATMOS, and virtual reality, among other new content experiences.